Take a look at our thoughts on the 5 future trends in video production, from 2022 and beyond.
5 future trends in video production
Virtual Sets
Anyone who saw the BBC’s coverage of the 2021 Olympic Games will no doubt have seen and marvelled at the elaborate and expansive set. Here in the 7 Stream Media office, our favourite game was to try to work out what parts of the set were real, and what parts weren’t – until the behind-the-scenes photos emerged of course…
Chroma-key is nothing new of course, having first been used in the 1940s, but the ability to place subjects in a completely virtual environment that you and they can move around in real time and broadcast this live is more recent.
While the budget they had to throw at the event was more than most of the productions we get involved in, the cost of this technology continues to fall. In a world where travel is increasingly difficult (and expensive) I think we will see more and more of this type of thing.
Hybrid Events
Much more on the every-day spectrum of course is a focus on hybrid events. These too are nothing new but have been thrown into a whole new light following the last couple of years of lockdowns and restrictions.
The people we speak to seem to have polarised into two camps – those who can’t wait to get face-to-face with people again… and those who have actually quite enjoyed not having to travel and attending events virtually.
Moving forward we expect a growing demand for companies who are running events to offer both in-person and virtual options to attendees and speakers. The good news is that with some planning and an adequate amount of forethought, this is all very achievable.
Remote Studio
Since the middle of 2020, our remote studio has probably been one of the busiest studios we’ve ever been to. The ability to bring people together from their own homes and integrate them with pre-records, graphics and slides has been a life-saver for many.
But with the increase in usage, the associated technology has also been developing at pace. Platforms like Zoom and Teams have invested heavily on creating increasingly stable and versatile ways of ‘dialling’ people in, especially when combined with the network wizardry that is NDI.
Even as the need to be remote decreases, the sheer convenience this offers will, for some, be simply irresistible.
The DIY Backlash
Ever since the first camcorders started to appear in the 1980s there has been a growing DIY trend in the video creation industry. The first mobile phone capable of video capture was launched in 1999 and YouTube was launched in 2005 with TikTok arriving in 2016. All of this has meant that today we are facing an absolute flood of home-made video content.
At risk of sounding like a grumpy professional video production company, some of this content is very good and the things that can be achieved, by some, are incredible. But for companies looking to stand out or make a statement, I would argue that it is no longer enough to simply have a video on your website, or produce some content. In a world where volume is everywhere, professionalism and quality become king.
DIY content isn’t going anywhere, but as people begin to realise the device alone doesn’t make you a Hollywood Director (despite what the device manufacturers tell you), there will be a push back against home-made and towards quality that stands out.
5G Broadcasting
I mentioned the development of technologies in the field of remote studio earlier. This, however, takes the whole thing to the next level. Companies like Amazon are now offering private 5G networks to their enterprise customers. What does that have to do with video production, you may well ask?
Well it’s a great question, mobile data speeds have traditionally been very inadequate when it comes to the high demand placed on them by even HD footage, let alone 4K. 5G, however is capable of handling somewhere between 20-30 4K video streams at any one time.
The availability and accessibility of private 5G networks, combined with the data carrying capacity will lead to a revolution in the way that broadcasts, and particularly live events, are managed.
